The two main influences on the band are the Beatles and Black Sabbath, and keyboardist Josh Silver has expressed a love of Pink Floyd--evidence of which can be heard in the atmospherics of his production techniques.
The band arose from the ashes of the band Carnivore and gained popularity with their songs "Black No. 1" and "Christian Woman" from the Bloody Kisses album. The album was the first in Roadrunner Records' catalog to go both gold and platinum. They have successfully toured with Pantera, Life of Agony, and dozens of other established and up-and-coming bands, as well as taking part in Ozzfest. The band had VHS and DVD documentary releases in addition to their CD releases and contributions to movie soundtracks and compilations.
Steele died of sepsis caused by diverticulitis (initially reported as heart failure) on April 14 2010 at the age of 48.
Singles and video-featured songs
Black No. 1 - 1993
Christian Woman - 1993
Cinnamon Girl - 1996
Everyone I Love Is Dead - 1999
Everything Dies - 1999
I Don't Wanna Be Me - 2003
Love You to Death - 1996
My Girlfriend's Girlfriend - 1996
Profits of Doom - 2007
September Sun - 2007
Summer Breeze - 1993
Discography
Slow, Deep and Hard - 1991
Origin of The Feces - 1992
Bloody Kisses - 1993
October Rust- 1996
World Coming Down - 1999
Life Is Killing Me - 2003
Dead Again - 2007
Members
Peter Steele - Vocals, bass guitar and songwriting (1990-2010)
Josh Silver - Keyboards (1990-2010)
Kenny Hickey - Guitar and backing vocals (1990-2010)
Johnny Kelly - Drums (1994-2010)
Sal Abruscato - Drums (1990-1993)
Hail and Farewell to Britain
Type O Negative Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I thought you royalty
I would never have questioned
Your loyalty
Don't act so surprised
I saw through your disguise
But with friends like you
Who needs enemas
Up until recently
Never had a clue
I must admit
I pity you
I'm through with your kind
Cause you've wasted my time
Please do not release them
Lord, knows what they do
I can't believe how cruel life is
Emotional blackmail
Makes me sick, oh so sick
Who is to blame for constant shame on you
These words I use, don't confuse with cool
This misfortune, not lost but won deserved
Choosing is hard
Careful which god you serve
Traitors many, surrounding me cowards
Conspiracy so clear to see flowers
We were brothers 'til discovered
Deceit tried with treason
That's the reason you're beat
All hail and farewell to Britain
All hail and farewell to thee
All hail and farewell to England
All hail and farewell to me
The lyrics of Type O Negative's song "Hail and Farewell to Britain" express a feeling of betrayal and resentment towards someone who was once thought to be a friend. The first verse describes a sense of disillusionment, with the singer realizing that the person they thought was loyal was actually wearing a disguise. The second verse speaks to the personal pain this betrayal has caused, with the singer expressing disgust at the emotional shock tactics that their former friend has used against them. The third verse turns to a more collective sense of betrayal, with the singer expressing a sense of loss and disappointment towards not only their former friend but also towards Britain and England as a whole.
The final line of the song, in which the singer says "All hail and farewell to me," seems to symbolize a departure from a past life and a beginning of a new one. The lyrics can be interpreted as a song of leaving behind a sense of treachery and hurt and moving on to a new phase in life. The mood is somber and introspective, with the music reflecting a sense of melancholy and loss.
Line by Line Meaning
Once upon a slime
In the past, when things were unpleasant
I thought you royalty
I believed you were a deserving and respectable person
I would never have questioned
I had no reason to doubt
Your loyalty
Your faithfulness and devotion
Don't act so surprised
There's no need to pretend you weren't aware
I saw through your disguise
I understood your true intentions
But with friends like you
Having acquaintances like yourself
Who needs enemas
is just as good as needing to cleanse oneself internally
Up until recently
Until recently
Never had a clue
I was entirely ignorant
I must admit
I concede
I pity you
I feel sympathy for you
I'm through with your kind
I'm done with people who behave like you
Cause you've wasted my time
Because you've consumed my time unnecessarily
Please do not release them
Please refrain from setting them free
Lord, knows what they do
It's unknown what they might do
I can't believe how cruel life is
I cannot comprehend how cruel life can be
Emotional blackmail
Manipulation through emotions
Makes me sick, oh so sick
It disgusts me to extreme degrees
Who is to blame for constant shame on you
Who should be held accountable for the continuous humiliation you face
These words I use, don't confuse with cool
These statements I make are not meant for entertainment purposes
This misfortune, not lost but won deserved
The adverse fate you've encountered is not a loss, but a deserved gain
Choosing is hard
Making decisions is a difficult task
Careful which god you serve
Be mindful of which deity you choose to follow
Traitors many, surrounding me cowards
Numerous traitors surround me, acting like cowards
Conspiracy so clear to see flowers
The plot is transparent like flowers
We were brothers 'til discovered
We were like family until this was unveiled
Deceit tried with treason
Fraud coupled with betrayal was attempted
That's the reason you're beat
That's why you are defeated
All hail and farewell to Britain
A salute and goodbye to Britain
All hail and farewell to thee
A salute and goodbye to you
All hail and farewell to England
A salute and goodbye to England
All hail and farewell to me
A salute and goodbye to myself
Contributed by Elizabeth L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
joan the mad
Once upon a slime I thought you royalty
I would never have questioned your loyalty
Don't act so surprised, saw through you disguise
But with friends like you prefer my enemies
Up until recently never had a clue
In a way I must admit I pity you
I'm through with you kind, 'cause you've wasted my time
Please do not release them, Lord knows what they do
I can't believe how cruel life is
Emotional blackmail makes me sick, oh so sick
Who is to blame for constant shame on you
These words I use don't confuse with cool
This misfortune not lost but won deserved
Choosing is hard careful which God you serve
Traitors many, surrounding me cowards
Conspiracy so clear to see flowers
We were brothers 'til discovered deceit
Tried with treason that's the reason you're beat
I can't believe how cruel life is
Emotional blackmail makes me sick, oh so sick
All hail and farewell to Britain, all hail and farewell to thee
All hail and farewell to England, all hail and farewell to me
Insert Pithy Name Here
Initially, Dead Again was my least-favourite TON release, besides the Bloody Kisses digipak redo that took We Hate Everyone and Kill All The White People off the track list. I found that the effect he used on his voice sounded weird. Also, funnily enough, the drums sound their most canned on this album, but they're one of the only TON LP/EPs that actually has live drums! The other releases were programmed drums, to appease Steele's need for total control. Yes: Sal, and later Johnny, wrote the drum parts, but they didn't actually play on any album except this one, IIRC.
However, throughout the decades, I've really come to appreciate it. There are some solid songs on here. I actually went and purchased a copy of this CD to play in my car, because it couldn't be found on any streaming services.
There are a couple things he says on there that make me SMH, though. These Three Things, anyone? Or the fact that he was totally manic, and convinced that God was issuing prophecies through him? I mean, who am I to say the latter wasn't true!?! I know sweet FA about how prophecy works.... When I got clean, I experience some high strangeness.....who knows if it's just wacky brain chemistry, or if something unexplained is actually going on?
While his early death was a tragedy, I think Steele would've HATED what's gone down in the years since he passed. I couldn't see him being stoked about the masking laws and vaccine, and he seems to've had the personality-type to become a total right wing conspiracy theorist.
I'm just speculating about that, but looking at my very Peter Steele-esque boyfriend- he got dragged into that toilet water cyclone so fast. He's the way most people have described Peter: beyond principled, kind, generous, does yard work and household chores for elderly neighbors, an incredibly hard-working person, who makes everyone he speaks to feel like the centre of attention. And, he's stunningly gorgeous.
I think Peter's passing, while tragic, was probably timed perfectly. I'm glad he didn't get to see the whole world go down, flaming.
I say this with total love, and respect for his close friends and loved ones.
MrZerkaman
“Once upon a slime, I thought you royalty. I would never have questioned your loyalty. Don't act so surprised; saw through your disguise, but with friends like you; prefer my enemies . . YeahehYeah!
Up until recently, never had a clue. In a way, I must admit, I pity you. I'm through with your kind; 'cause you've wasted my time. Please do not release them, Lord knows what they do . . YeahehYeah!
"I can't believe how cruel life is — emotional blackmail, makes me sick — Oh SO sick! Oh WOE! Oh WOE!"
Who is to blame for constant shame on you? These words I use, please don't confuse with 'cool'. This misfortune; not lost, but won —deserved. Choosing is hard; careful which God, you serve! . .
(Grow UP!)
Traitors many; surrounding me — cowards. Conspiracy; so clear to see — flowers. We were brothers; til discovered — deceit. Tried with treason; that's the reason — you're beat! . .
(GROW UP!)
"I can't believe how cruel life is — emotional blackmail, makes me sick — Oh SO sick! Oh, WOE! Oh WOE!"
All hail and farewell to Britain. All hail and farewell to thy. All hail and farewell to Britain. All hail and farewell to Me —to ME . .
All hail and farewell to Britain. All hail and farewell to thy. All hail and farewell to Britain. All hail and farewell to Me —to ME . . ”
blackrabbitofinle
"I can't believe how cruel life is." Neither can I Pete, neither can I. Rest in Peace.
rStrange
It's crazy how the last line of the last song on Pete's last album is "Hail and farewell to me."
Lia Kat
And it's even more crazy that in the end he got betrayed just the same.
Arthur Bishop
@Lia Kat How do you mean??
Lia Kat
@Arthur Bishop Too much to discuss on here, but basically the person he was with at the time didn't get him any help when he was dying. He would still be here had he gotten the medical help he needed. </3. His place was also trashed and robbed. I've talked to his family about this.
Lia Kat
@Arthur Bishop Traitors many, surrounding me cowards....
Raven Williams
@Lia Kat that's awful. Rip to our Greenman. My parents have just split up and his words and his music are currently keeping me together. I miss you Pete. We all do
Mich DE
Most underrated metal band of all time
Bepi Visintainer
Most metal herds I know love T 0 N
Robb S
Most underrated BAND of all time.